![Shiga Shiga-gun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Shiga_Shiga-gun.png)
was a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
located in
Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
As of 2003, the district has an estimated
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 21,964 and a
density
Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...
of 306.20 persons per km
2. The total area is 71.73 km
2.
History
*1868 (
Boshin War
The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
/
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
) – The
shogunate territories in the district become part of Ōtsu Prefecture ''(Ōtsu-ken)''
*1871 (
Abolition of the han system
The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...
) – All feudal domains ''(-han)'', including those containing territories in the district, become prefectures ''(-ken)''.
*1871/72 – In the first wave of prefectural mergers, the entire district becomes part of Ōtsu Prefecture which is then renamed to Shiga after the district
*1878/79 – The ancient districts of provinces are reactivated as modern administrative units as districts of prefectures: the district government of Shiga is established in Ōtsu-Hashimoto-chō (?, 大津橋本町)
![Shiga Shiga-gun 1889](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Shiga_Shiga-gun_1889.png)
*1/4/1889 (establishment of municipalities & Great Meiji mergers) - The "Town and Village Code" (町村制, ''chō-son-sei''), the new law establishing
towns
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
and
villages
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
as
modern political units, was implemented. As a result, the town of Ōtsu and the villages of Shiga (滋賀村, ''Shiga-mura'', "Shiga Village"), Zeze, Ishiyama, Sakamoto, Shimosakamoto, Ogoto, Katata, Ōgi, Mano, Ikadachi, Katsuragawa, Wani, Kido and Komatsu were formed.
*1/4/1898 - The "District Code" (郡制, ''gun-sei''), the revised law governing districts, was implemented, establishing indirectly elected district assemblies ''(gun-kai)'' and collective executive councils ''(gun-sanjikai)''.
*1/10/1898 - Ōtsu Town (大津町, ''Ōtsu-chō'') became
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
: district-independent] Ōtsu City (大津市, ''Ōtsu-shi'').
*20/7/1901 -
**The village of Zeze became the town of Zeze.
**The village of Katata became the town of Katata.
*1/4/1923 - The district assembly was abolished. The district office remains.
*1/7/1926 - The district government was abolished, reducing the district (again) to a geographical division.
*1/1/1930 - The village of Ishiyama became the town of Ishiyama.
*10/5/1932 - The village of Shiga merged into the city of Ōtsu.
*1/4/1951 - The towns of Zeze and Ishiyama merged with the city of Ōtsu into the new city of Ōtsu.
*1950s (Great Shōwa mergers)
**1/4/1955 - The town of Katata and the villages of Ōgi, Mano, Ikadachi and Katsuragawa merged into the town of Katata.
**1/10/1955 - The villages of Wani, Kido and Komatsu merged into
Shiga Town (志賀町, ''Shigachō'').
**30/9/1956 - Part of the town of Shiga (Kamogawa) merged into the town of Takashima from
Takashima District.
*1/4/1967 - The village of Katata merged into the city of Ōtsu.
*20/3/2006 - The town of Shiga merged into the city of Ōtsu. Shiga District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
Transition
Light blue autonomies are Shiga District's town, deep blue autonomies are Shiga District's village, and gray autonomies are others.
{{Authority control
Former districts of Shiga Prefecture